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Have you ever seen the young adult dog who acts terrified, almost like they'd been abused in some form, as people often assume? While that does sometimes happen more likely the cause of the fearful dog is lack of socialization during the critical period of development. In the first 8 weeks of their lives, breeders or the responsible caretaker of the puppy should be providing the litter with enrichment activities such as different under footings, noises, and people. Once you come to own your puppy it is your job to continue to positively expose your dog and socialize them to the world. It's more than being around other dogs it's different places, people and things to help build and create a confident, stable, adult dog. This is more important than teaching your dog any basic commands. You can always do that but you only have a short window to socialize.

Here is a list of ideas of ways to socialize your puppy.

Different Types of People - Your puppy needs to be socialized with at least 100 different people before they are 16-20 weeks old. If you don’t have access to that many people, consider hanging out with your puppy at a busy shopping area. You need to do that more than one time. Make field trips fun and keep them short. Not every trip needs to result in greeting every person. Calm behavior should be encouraged during these interactions.

Men (men with beards, men without beards, men with beards that wear hats, wearing hats and sunglasses, etc.)

Women

Boys

Girls

Shuffling people

Slouched people

People with glasses

People on crutches

People with walking sticks

People with walking frames

People walking strangely

Babies

Parties

People on roller blades

Joggers

Wheelchairs

Heavy people

Thin people

Tall people

Short people

People costumes

People in big coats

People with beards

People with sunglasses

People of all races

Bald people

People exercising (running, jogging, star jumps, etc)

Children and babies (See NOTE)

Dancing people

Busking people

Note: It is really important that your puppy interacts with kids of different ages. Infants are very different than a crawling or semi walking baby. Most dogs are fine with infants but when a baby become a little more mobile is when most families see signs of growling and other aggressive displays. Please go out of your way to find children who will follow direction well and not hurt or scare your pup by accident.

Different surfaces

Bean bags

Tile floors

Wood Floors

Bubble wrap

Different walking surfaces

Wobbly bridges

Heights

Agility Equipment

Gravel

White floors

Child’s plastic sled

Leaves

Metal street grates

Plastic tarp

Cookie tin

Walk through a ladder on the ground

Tippy board

Mud

Puddles

Foot bridge

Stairs, closed and open back

Note: Be creative here! Your puppy will not need to walk on all of the above.You can pile the treats on different weird surfaces and gently encourage your pup to step on. Never force your puppy to go on something. Help shape the puppy to think that this is their idea.

Water

Sprinklers

Hoses

Being wet by the hose

Water

Shower

The beach

The bath

Swimming pools

People swimming

Water feature

Rain

Note-Just because you got your puppy in the winter does not mean that you don’t have to go out of your way to find things that they will see in the summer.

Places

Airport

Skate park

Bus depot

Bus stop

Train station

Shopping malls

Loud fun places

Football game

Supermarket

School

Coffee shop

Building site

The gym

Tennis game

Office

Speed way

Place with crowds

Main roads

Your place of work

Playground (start at a distance and work your way closer)

Note- Many large stores like Home Depot and Lowes or greenhouses allow puppies to come and train. Check with your local store before going. This will cover many things on your list. You need to go more than one time!

Moving and making noise

Lawn mower

Bikes

Children playing with various toys

Shopping carts

Vaccum cleaner

Skate boards

Scooters

Bus

Train

Tractors

Ride on lawn mowers

Cars

Hammering

Trucks

Motorbikes

Chainsaws

Fork lift

Helicopters

Airplanes

Sirens

Hair dryer

Suit cases

Remote control cars

Ceiling fans

Mirrors

Glass sliding doors

Boats

Automatic doors

Garage doors

Construction sites

Noises

Fireworks from a great distance

Storms (e.g. thunder and lightning)

Parties

Musical instruments (piano, guitar, saxophone)

Gunshot

Cheering

Yelling

Singing

School bell

Sound effects CD and/or on line

Saucepans

Radio

Lawn mower

Loud noises

Note- Fireworks -please do not take your puppy to fireworks. If you know a holiday is coming like the 4th of July, be ready to make it a positive experience with lots of yummy treats, your jolly voice and a soothing music. If your puppy lives with a noise phobic dog, consider having the pup in a different location during these holidays. You can also find noises on line that you can condition your puppy to. Start at low levels.

Situations

Leash

Harnesses

Muzzle

Loom overhead

Collar grabs

Opening mouth

Cutting nails

Grooming (as appropriate to the breed)

Clippers

Being tethered

Having ears cleaned

Having eyes cleared

Having every part of the body handled

Being picked up

Teeth cleaning

Being carried on a stretcher

Being bandaged

The vet

Note – Please make arrangements to stop in to your vets several times for some treats and love at times when your puppy does not have an appointment. This will make visits less stressful for everyone.

Weird things

Big plastic objects

Plastic bags

Balloons

Umbrellas

Mirrors

Big balls

Thrown things

Shopping carts

Baby stollers

Fast movement

Kids toys

Brooms

Vaccuum cleaner

The wind

The wind blowing bushes/trees

Flags

Balls and frisbees

Tents

Flashlights

Travel

Escalators

Elevators

The car

Planes

Other animals

Puppy school

Big dog

Little dog

Shaggy dog

Smooth dog

Farm animals

Bull breed dogs

Rabbits

Birds

When socializing is done properly you build the confident and stable dog. Therefore your dog will quickly recover from any instance that might startle or scare him. You may not need to socialize to every item on this list but if you can check off most of them you will find your dog is able to roll with new encounters or weird objects. Socializing is for life but it is best received at the young age of 8-16 weeks. It is always a good idea for the first 6 months when out with your puppy to bring tasty treats. If your dog sees something that makes him uneasy you have your tasty treats handy to work him through it and turn it into a positive experience.

What are you waiting for, get out there and start helping your dog cope with the world.